Typically, a pipe or tube is made by taking a piece of steel strip, and rolling it into a cylinder. After rolling, the formed tube is welded using various welding techniques known in the art. The mill produces tubing that needs to adhere to strict quality standards. The requirement may require samples to be taken from a tube produced from a parent coil of steel at the beginning, middle and end of that coil. The typical test method was to take samples from a tubing section off line, which took up to an additional 20 minutes to acquire a sample for inspection. Additionally, the inspection typically occurs in a different part of the plant by separate personnel rather than the saw operator. Thus, too much time elapsed between producing the tube in obtaining off-line sample for testing and then obtaining the test results. Further, additional personnel are needed to test the formed product.
Thus there is a need to for the ability take and test sample on-line and provide real-time feedback during mill production. This allows for continuous tube production while samples are cut and testing conducted.